What happens in the gamer's mind?

Chess Out: Cognition researchers monitor gamers' activity in StarCraft 2 to learn how they cope with multitasking

Sandra Epson, Scientific American

If there is any accepted assumption about the limitations of the human brain, it is that we have great difficulty multitasking. The brain excels when we focus on a single task but when we have to split our attention between several goals, mistakes are inevitable.

However, there are some clear exceptions that cast doubt on this sweeping diagnosis. In the cognitive sciences, the game of chess held for decades the title equivalent to that of the Drosophila fly in biology: it was used as the "model organism" to study and learn what makes chess champions better than everyone else. StarCraft 2, one of the most popular computer games in the world today, threatens to take the place of chess as a leading topic in cognitive research. Its complexity may deter researchers, but the answers they can derive from its investigation will likely be more instructive. In this real-time strategy game, the player plays the role of an almighty god who controls groups of different creatures. The players must lead the group under their control to develop an independent economy and prepare it for skirmishes with neighboring groups. The winner of the game is often the fastest competitor who can reach as many as six moves per second.

The advantage of the game as a subject for research lies in the data produced during it. When two competitors face each other, their computers produce records of all actions taken during the game. These log entries reflect what is going on in the players' minds at each and every stage of the game. "I can't think of any cognitive process that isn't reflected in Starcraft," says Mark Blair, a cognitive scientist at Simon Fraser University in Canada. "Working memory, decision-making and precise motor skills are used in it. Each of these processes is important, and all of them must act in an integrated manner."

Thousands of gamers are currently taking part in the SkillCraft project that Blair manages and whose goal is to allow scientists to discover what sets the experts apart and differentiates them from the novices when it comes to attention, multitasking and learning. Based on a comparison between the techniques and characteristics of low-level players and those of experienced and skilled gamers, researchers will be able to gain new insights into how skills develop and, in the longer term, perhaps even locate the most effective method for their development. Blair recognizes similarities between the computer game and emergency management systems. In crisis situations that involve a lot of pressure and mental stress, those responsible for coordinating a response to the situation may be required to deal with several problems at once: fire alarms, riots and riots, contamination of drinking water, and more. The mental task of keeping one's composure and dividing attention between several equally urgent activities is not much different from the core challenge of StarCraft 2.